Wrench



Jan. 1s 1924. 1,480,971

A. *WALLACE WRENCH Filed July 2l. 1921 INVENTOR.

M www.

A T'TORNE Y.

Patented Jan. l5, 1924.

naires sr Ares l 1,480,971?Y PATENT e l ARCHIBALD L; WALLACE, 0F NEW YORK, NYl

WRENCH.

applicati@ ined July 21,

To all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that l, ARCHIBALD LYLn lVAnmcn, a.y subject of the King of Great Britain, residing at 26 Cortland Street, in the county and State and city of New York,

have invented new and useful Improvements` in Wrenches,rof which Vthe following is a specification,V reference being` had to` the.` drawings, which form a partof thisspeci-i I'ication.

The structure comprised in the aforesaidV earlier patent provides a fulcrum which is outside the plane of the pull force that is transmitted through the flexible member, so that the thrust force in that structure is exerted angularly t0 the line of' pull force, thereby creating a condition that causes the object being gripped to be subjected to an undue, localized, crushing strain in thel operation of the wrench,

Therefore, one of they purposes of the present invention is to provide astructure wherein the pull and thrust forceswhich are exerted to frictionally vengage the' flexible member about the work object, operate on the toggle principle with the toggle joint constituting a common fulcrum through which the opposing forces are transmitted in a single plane, tangentially to the peripheral surface of the work object, thus enf abling the flexible member to engage said work object with uniform tension about its entire circumference. l

Also my invention comprehends the provision of interlocking knife edge engaging means between` the leverl and the end ofk the Iiexible member at which thrust force is exerted, to prevent lateral deviations from the straight line direction thereof, and to pre'- vent disengagement under operation.

Another feature of my present invention consists in the provision of guideA means for the flexible member, between the point at which said member connects with the means for its lengthwise adjustment relatively to the lever and the region where said fiexible member engages the work object, thel purproved4 wrench.

1921,. serial No. 486,487.

pose of said guide'means mainly serving-tov prevent the imposition of` angular strains upo'nvthe adjustment means, which, if'imposed; would tend toV distort said; adjusth4 ment means, or Vat least to set up such excessi-ve` friction ast'o interfere with its vopieraton; and -V l 1 Y,

A still further feature offmy invention consists in forming the flexible member, at

its object embracing' portion, in articula' tions that areof relatively short lengths, to

conveniently encircleaworkobject of small' diameter, kwhile succeeding` articulationsmay beflonger because ai work object', ofk larger diameter, will" engaginglyv seati such longer articulations. l

'O "her" features and In the drawing g advantages of my Y .saidtlnvention willL hereinafter' appear; 4

Figure' l is a side elevation' of4 myfim- Figure 2k is a top plan viewl thereof. i

Figure 8" is a detail plan' view of. a chain end portion` having lrnifel edge thrust bear#- ings FigureI 4 is a side elevation of a .modifie-d formA of my invention.

Figure 5'; isaplan' view of Fi v-re et, and

,Figure is a-.detail lplan view ofthe chain endP` portion employed inthe modified form of Figures 4t' and 5;

InY the example of my invention illus*- trated intFigure" l and'L Figure 2, let 1 indicate the wrench stock or lever, upon which is mounted a slide '2 that carries a. pin 3 to engagein orifices 4' in the stock to effect major adjustments of said slide along said stock. Jalso mountedin an extension 5 of slide' 2 isa threaded member 6, that carries an adjustment nut V.7, said extension 5 being apertured at 8 to provide localizing end bearings for said nut, so that, upon turning the nut, minor lengthwise adjustments of theV member 6 may be effected.Y

The stock or lever I has a head portion 9 that is provided with, anangular slot 10 extending upwardly therethrough, and a flexible or articulated member 11, which connects at one end with'fmember' 6, is passed through said slot, said member 1l being of suiiicient lengthv to engirdle pipes or other objects of varying diameters which are to be turned by the wrench. In the drawing a pipe 12 has been indicated as a worl'r ob,- ject, by way of example.- The stockA head Figure 3? shows1 the loclrA enga ing means. l

arms 14, v14 that each carry, exteriorly, a

rearwardly directed knife-edge bearing 15, said bearings, when the Aarticulated. member has been `wrapped about the. work object, then lying between arms v14, 14, and its length adjusted, having opposed, bearing LContact with the ends of arms 1 3, whereby the opposed pull and thrust forces that are applied upon tightening member 11 about the work object, are centered in av common plane, tangential to said work object. j

Theend portions of arms 14, anterior the bearings 15, 'have the downturned, hooklike formations 14a, toY engage with the hooks 13a, thus yproviding interlocking means between the Vflexible member ,and lever which will maintain their connective relation under operation of the wrench.

A guard, 15a, adjustably secured as at 15b to lever 1, is extended over the flexible member 11, to hold said member to the work object during the release movement of the lefver preparatory 'to taking a fresh turning rip.

g In operation the articulated member 11 is placed about the work object land fitted thereto by the adjustment means. Then by bearing downwardly upon the lever, with its head surface pressing against'member 11, gripping union is efl'ectedand becomes the more secure according to the degree of resistance that is Voffered by the work object,.but thecreation of any localized pressure upon the work object is avoided because the opposed lines of force follow concentrically about the work object and are thus uniformly applied. vAs 4pertains tol other forms of wrenches vof the type herein indicated, the reverse or upward movement of the lever will release the binding lgrip of member 11, and permit a new grip to be taken for another turn. The guard members 15a, in this reverse movement, bearing Kupon` the flexible member 11, to prevent slackening thereof, which might otherwise tend to disengage the locking junction of hooks 13a, 14a.

The articulated member 11 is here shown as having links or articulated elements of varying lengths, those of less lengths being at the free end portion of said member 11. This is for the purpose of enabling a small sized work object to have contact with adjacent links, ywhile the succeeding longer links, together with said smaller ones, will serve a like function when a larger work object is to be engirdled and gripped.

The bearing surface portions of slot 10 aresmooth and suitably curved so that the member 11 will slide freely thereover, and

minal link 17 which is aperturedat 18, and

has the bearing portion 19, to co-act with a thrust bearing surface on a lever projection '20, said projection being capable `of lying between the stilesV 16, 16.

The slide 21 shown in conjunction with thisV modification has the Vworm 22 to'l cof act with a rack 23 on the lever.

`Variations within the spirit and scope of.

my said invention are equally comprehended y I claimzj 1. A wrench comprising a exible member capable of embracing a work object, a lever, longitudinally adjustable means upon said lever to engage said fiexible member at'one endthereof, 'and fixed means upon said lever to engage the other end of said flexible mem# ber, with said member extendedin a straight line from said fixed means fora portion of its length, wherebyl the opposed pull and thrust forces are exerted tangentially in the same plane with respect to the peripheral surface of said work object. n n

2. A wrench comprising a flexible member capable of embracing an object to be turned, a lever, longitudinally adjustable means upon said lever to engage said flexible member at one end thereof, fixed means upon said lever to engage-the other end of said flexible member, with said member extended in astraight line for a portion of its length in a plane parallel to the line of thrust exerted through said fixed means, and guide means for' said flexible member to enable the pull force fex.

erted through said longitudinally adjustable means to be communicated in a straight line parallel to said line of thrust.

' 8. A wrench comprising a lever, a flexible member capable of embracing a work object, and extending in a straight line therefrom for a portion of its length, inv a plane parallel to the line of thrust exerted through said lever, longitudinally adjustable Vmeans upon said lever to engage said vliexible member, at one end thereof,under a pull strain that is tangential to the vwork object, and thrust means yupon said lever to engage the other end ofsaid fiexible member in the straight line of the pull strain.

4. A wrench comprising a flexible member capable of embracing a work object, a lever,

llO

work object.

5. A wrench comprising a lever. a flexible member capable of embracing a work object, and extending in a straight line therefrom for a portion or' its length, in a plane parallel to the line of thrust exerted through said lever, and longitudinallyadjustable means upon said lever to engage said flexible member at one end thereof, the free end of said flexible member and said lever being provided respectively with interlocking engaging means lying in the plane of the straight line portion of the flexible member,

6. A wrench comprising a flexible member eapable of embracing a work object and extending 1n a straight line therefrom for a portion of its length, a lever, and longitudinally adjustable means upon said leverV to engage said flexible member at one end thereof, the free end of said flexible member and said lever, being provided respectively with hook-like interlocking engaging means lying in the plane of the straight line portion of the flexible member.

7. A Wrench comprising a flexible member capable of embracing a work object and exT tending tangentially thereto in a straight line therefrom for a portion of its length, a lever, and a rigid, adjustable guard member to hold the flexible member interlocked with the levers during the release operation of the 

